Today… some random thoughts about numbers and Canadian hospitality.
• 20 – The number of years, and counting, it takes to deport a cold-blooded terrorist from Canada. In 1968, Mohammed Issa Mohammed and an accomplice attacked an El Al Boeing 707 with six grenades and 83 rounds of ammunition while it was readying itself for takeoff at the Athens airport killing one passenger. He received a 17-year sentence from a Greek court but was released prematurely a few months later when terrorists threatened to blow up another plane unless he was released. He landed in Canada in 1987 with his wife and three kids having apparently forgotten to mention that spot of blood on his hands. He continues to live quietly in Canada while all of our government’s efforts to deport him for misrepresentation have failed.
• 8 – The number of years, and counting, it takes Canada to extradite an alleged fraudster. Karlheinz Schreiber was arrested in Canada in August 1999 at the request of Germany where he is wanted for tax evasion, fraud, forgery and bribery. After a formidable eight-year challenge to these proceedings, it looked like his time here was finally up when our Minister of Justice, last week, graciously gave him 15 more days in Canada so that he could huddle with his legal team. Now that Prime Minister Steven Harper has called for an inquiry into Schreiber’s dealings with Brian Mulroney, MP’s are calling for the government to delay the process so that he can testify at these proceedings.
• 3 – The number of years it takes our legal system to refuse to answer the question of a conscientious objector. Jeremy Hinzman, an American soldier, came to Canada in January 2004 seeking asylum on the grounds that he believed that fighting in Iraq might be contrary to international law. The Immigration and Refugee Board refused to let him lead evidence to this effect thereby completely gutting his claim. In March 2006 the Federal Court Trial Division denied his application for judicial review but paved the way for a further appeal by certifying this “serious question of general importance.” In April 2007, the Federal Court of Appeal refused to answer the question at all as did, last week, the Supreme Court of Canada. Hinzman’s days in Canada now seem numbered and Canadians still don’t know if we expect foreign soldiers to follow orders even when they believe that those orders might violate international law.
• 30 – The approximate number of seconds it took four RCMP officers at Vancouver’s airport before blasting Robert Dziekanski, a novice Polish traveller, with 50,000 volts of electricity. This greeting was repeated a second time and followed up with a knee to the chest, neck or whatever. Not surprisingly, he died. Instead of basking in the long-awaited reunion with her son, Zofia Cisowski will be spending her time dividing his ashes between B.C. and Poland.
Guidy Mamann practises law in Toronto at Mamann & Associates and is certified by the Law Society of Upper Canada as an immigration specialist. Reach him confidentially at 416-862-0000 or at
metro@migrationlaw.com
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